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Week 25 Report

26/3/2017

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We’ve reached the business end of the 2016/17 Edinburgh & Lothians League Season and Week 25 was another terrific one for the Club. 
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We start this week in Division 2 where both Penicuik 3 and 4 faced crucial fixtures for very different reasons. Team 3 of James Wighton, Gary Mcdougal and Abby Wighton faced a home tie against Edinburgh University 3 in the knowledge that avoiding defeat would ensure at least a second place finish in the Division thus securing promotion to Division 1. There was some panic around Ladywood as in the first 5 matches of the night James was the only winner (twice). Trailing 3-2, a win for Gary followed by a doubles victory for him with James gave the home side the lead for the first time on the night. Back came University, however, to level the scores at 4-4 as James fell to his first defeat of the night. At 2-0 up in Match 9 the point needed for promotion looked secure only for Gary to lose the next two ends to once again raise the panic levels. He held his nerve in a tight decider, however, winning 12-10 to give Team 3 the all important 5-4 advantage. Abby then rounded the night off with a win in Match 10 as the home side guaranteed promotion with a 6-4 victory. 2 matches left for Team 3 and a season record of 16 wins, 3 draws and only 1 defeat sees them sit 8 points clear of 3rd place Fife who can no longer mathematically catch them. 

Meanwhile at the bottom of the table, Krzysztof Laszkiewicz and Chris Markey called on the services of Vikas Singla from Team 5 as they faced an away match against Murrayfield 6. Starting the night level on points with 2nd bottom West Lothian 5, the away side had targeted this fixture as a possible win to give them some breathing space in their fight for survival. It looked like being a disappointing night after 4 matches as the home side led 3-1 but from that point on the visitors found their form winning the remaining 6 games for an excellent 7-3 win. All three players won 2 singles and Krzysztof combined with Chris for a win in the doubles. Even better news was to follow for Team 4 as the score from West Lothian’s match against Fife filtered through - a 9-1 victory for the Fife side leaves West Lothian two points behind Penicuik 4 with a much worse game difference and only one match to play. Even if West Lothian win their remaining fixture 10-0 and Team 4 were to lose their remaining two games by the same scoreline, results in week 25 have confirmed Team 4’s safety in Division 2. 

In Division 3, Penicuik 5’s chances of survival were given a huge boost as they recorded an emphatic win against Corstorphine 5. Vikas Singla, Louis Myatt and Rudolph Andrade were all in excellent form in singles play and Vikas and Rudolph combined for a doubles victory in their 10-0 whitewash win. The Team’s destiny is now in their own hands (and that’s a significant change from the position only some 3 weeks ago). They find themselves level on points with Edinburgh Sports Club 4 and the sides meet in a relegation decider this Monday. Team 5 have the advantage of knowing that because of their superior game difference a draw would be sufficient for them to pull off a remarkable escape. 

The battle at the top of Division 4 has boiled up significantly over the last couple of weeks and after Team 7’s surprise win over League leaders Edinburgh University last week it had become a three way battle for promotion between Team 6, University and North Merchiston 6. In yet another twist, North Merchiston surprisingly lost to Murrayfield in Week 25 opening the door for Team 6 (Craig Johnson, Sean Lennon and Stuart Bennett) to leapfrog them into second place in the division if they could win their away fixture at Edinburgh International 5. At 2-2, there was concern that the visitors may let the opportunity slip by. Craig won Match 5 and the turning point of the night was Matches 6 and 7 which both went to 5th end deciders. First Stuart clawed back from a 2-0 deficit to win 11-9 in the fifth and then Sean and Craig in the doubles fixture came back from a 2-1 deficit to win match 7. 5-2 up and a point secured, the visitors didn’t look back winning the remaining 3 games for an excellent 8-2 win. Team 6's night got even better when they heard that for the second week in a row, University failed to secure a point as they fell to a 6-4 loss at the hands of Haddington. Team 6 with one match remaining now sit at the top of the Division 4 table a point clear of both their rivals with one match of the season left! 

Penicuik 7 were unfortunately not able to repeat their performance from Week 24 as Rachel Petrie, George Wilson and Lewis Baldock fell to a 7-3 defeat against a two man Fife side. Rachel was particularly unlucky losing Match 1 on the night in a mammoth 5th end by a 16-14 scoreline. 

And so to our player of the week award for Week 25. In another terrific week for the Club, the decision this week is a difficult one. Vikas was in the running for his undefeated night in Division 3 and for his contribution to Team 4’s victory. Louis and Rudolph were also undefeated. Given the huge pressure they were under, Krys and Chris are due credit for good performances in their must win game against Murrayfield but for the importance of his undefeated night in a crucial, pressure filled match this week’s winner is Team 6’s Craig Johnson.  Well done Craig. 

Away from the League, 3 of our players represented Edinburgh in the Inter League Competition at Perth over the weekend. Greig and Colin represented Edinburgh Veterans whilst Abby teamed up with Gillian Edwards in the Women’s Event. All 3 players acquitted themselves well. Greig and Colin with former Penicuik player Martin MacKay were runners-up in a strong Veterans event whilst Gillian and Abby brilliantly defeated West of Scotland in the last match of the event to win the Ladies Title. Well done to them all. 

And finally our controversy of the week. Earlier this year our League Match Secretary ruffled some feathers by sending out emails regarding outstanding fixtures and breaches of the rule which states that a postponement MUST be played within 4 playing weeks of the scheduled date. Probably all of those clubs affected at the time have had those matches played. There is an argument that such a rule is not particularly necessary - why does a match have to be played within a set number of weeks? What does make sense though is to have a cut off point for playing outstanding matches. As we sit this evening with five days left of the season there are 9 outstanding fixtures still to be played. Maybe most of them will be played this week? Maybe next week? Who knows? The problem of course is that in matches where there might be promotion or relegation at stake it’s not a very level playing field to have one team playing their last fixture not having a clue what might be needed to ensure they finish above an opponent. Surely it makes sense to have all outstanding fixtures played by no later than the start of the final week of league action - there’s our first proposed rule change for next season!!

And finally, it would be remiss of us not to mention the biggest controversy of the week - needing at least a “XXXL” Edinburgh Team T-shirt, who thought that the “L” version which they brought along to Perth for our Club President at the weekend would ever fit him!! Shocking!!

Only one week left - and two intra club Penicuik fixtures in that last week - we've got our controversy of the week section sorted for next week already!!


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Week 24 Report

19/3/2017

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It's getting tense in the Edinburgh & Lothians League as the end of the season approaches and a number of our teams remain involved in promotion contention or relegation trouble! Only Team 6 sat out the action in Week 24 - a week which was probably the Club's best week of the season in terms of results.

In the Premier Division, Team 1 had little to play for as they faced an away fixture against North Merchiston 2. They sat, somewhat remarkably given how infrequently they have fielded a full team, in 5th place as they began week 24 although their opponents are embroiled in a relegation dogfight, one of four clubs who could drop out of the top flight. Once again Team 1 were understrength and rather than going for a quick night and playing with two, Team Captain Greig called up Iain Johnstone to deputise for Stuart Gow. That turned out to be a crucial decision after North Merchiston's number three failed to show up! That's definitely not what you need when points are at a premium. Greig and Colin were undefeated on the night in the resultant 7-3 win. 

In Division 1 Team 2 started the night level on points with their opponents, Edinburgh International with both teams only 3 points clear of the relegation zone. As Iain Johnstone had said whilst playing top for Team 1 this was a must win match for Team 2. With the scores tied at 1-1, Brian Bailey secured a vital 5 end victory against Ken Benjamin to ease some nerves on the Ladywood side. Form that point on neither Clive Liddiard nor Iain lost as Team 2 secured their Division 1 status for next season with an excellent 7-3 win. Iain won all 3 singles played, Clive Liddiard won two and Brian Bailey added one. Clive and Iain also combined for a doubles victory.  

Looking to join Penicuik 2 in Division 1 next season, Team 3 required to call on the services of Team 4's Krzysztof Laszkiewicz as he joined regulars, James and Abby Wighton in their away fixture against West Lothian 5. The visitors started the night in the knowledge that 3 points from their last 4 matches would secure them promotion to Division 1. On another excellent night only Abby tasted defeat in their 9-1 victory. Mathematically Fife can still catch the Ladywood side, however that would be on the basis that they win all their remaining 4 matches and Team 3 lose their remaining 3. Not wanting to tempt fate but surely that turnaround would be as wild a bet as Leicester winning the Premier League....

Meanwhile fighting against relegation from Division 2, Krzysztof who had played so well for Team 3 earlier in the week had to once again rely on two players playing up from Division 4 as Team 4 faced Edinburgh Sports Club at Ladywood. Marcin Mroz and Craig Johnson joined Krzysztof and both of them picked up one singles victory. Unfortunately, Krzysztof couldn't repeat what he had done for Team 3 as he picked up two wins in a desperately unlucky 6-4 defeat. It's looking edgy for Team 4, only above the relegation drop zone on game difference - they know, however, that 2nd bottom West Lothian 5 need to pick up a victory from one of their last two matches to overtake them - that fight looks like it's going down to the wire...

Fighting against relegation from Division 3, Team 5 of John Bald, Vikas Singla and Rudolph Andrade picked up a crucial point in their week 23 match and that gave them a glimmer of hope of survival as they travelled to East Lothian to take on 3rd placed Haddington 2. At 3-2 down it was looking bleak for the visitors but from that point the Penicuik side ran off 5 consecutive victories to record a terrific 7-3 win. In singles play, Vikas won 3, Rudolph 2 and John 1 whilst Vikas and Rudolph added a doubles win. Having been 5 points from safety a couple of weeks ago 3 points from the last 4 have brought Team 5 to within 2 points of 3rd bottom Edinburgh Sports Club who only have 1 game left to play - and guess who that game is against?? Yip - Penicuik 5 on the 27th of March!!!  

Finally in Week 24, Penicuik 7 who sat at the foot of the Division 4 table travelled to take on League leaders Edinburgh University who sat a massive 21 points clear of the Penicuik side. Going into the doubles fixture at 4-2 down it looked as though George Wilson, Lewis Baldock and Louis McLeod were going to fall to another defeat. George and Louis kept the visitors in the match with an excellent doubles victory and when that was followed by a 5 set win for Lewis suddenly the scores were tied at 4-4. George then held his nerve to record an excellent 4 set win leaving the undefeated on the night Louis McLeod to try and finish off a remarkably unexpected comeback victory. Louis duly delivered as Team 7 recorded a fantastic 6-4 victory. In addition to the Team 7 players being over the moon, the victory renewed Team 6's hopes of promotion from Division 4. With two matches of the season left Team 6 sit in third place but now only a point behind the two teams ahead of them, Edinburgh Uni and North Merchiston - and they have to meet in the last match of the season!!! Another battle which will be decided in the final week of action. 

And so to our player of the week award for Week 24. In probably what was the single best week of results for the Club, there were a number of players undefeated in singles play. Greig and Colin for Team 1; Iain for Team 2; Krzysztof and James for Team 3, Vikas for Team 5 and Louis for Team 7. Well done to all of them but really the decision this week was an easy one - the standout performance came from young Louis - it doesn't get much better than being undefeated and contributing to the doubles victory against the top of the table side in a comeback from the dead victory!! Well done Louis. 

Away from the League, the National Vets Table Tennis Championships took place at Bathgate today. Colin somehow managed to keep coming back from the dead with a run of 5 end victories to reach the final of the Over 70's Event - sorry I mean over 60's - what he's not 60 yet?? Over 50's seemingly - he lost out in the final to Alan Whitton but the real achievement is not his runners-up medal but over the 5 assessment tournaments for the season he came out on top in the points calculation - well done Colin. Our Club President, part-time coach and mentor to Colin tells us he takes a lot of credit for Colin's improvement over the last couple of seasons - so well done to him as well!!

And finally our controversy of the week. We had our own internal bust-up this week after a breakdown in communication between two senior members at the club - but lets put that behind us - all is forgiven now and the two involved have made up and are going away for a weekend together seemingly to rebuild their close and loving bond....

Player rankings come under scrutiny this week after it came to light that Edinburgh International had registered a player in Division 3 who seems to be anything but Division 3 standard. This had a direct effect on our Team 5 as he played his first league match against John's team winning all 3 singles and combining for a doubles victory in EI's 6-4 win!! After playing a number of other matches in Division 3 without being troubled, it appears EI realised he was a bit better than Division 3 standard so they gave him a go in Division1 - he was undefeated there as well - lets try him in the Premier Division then... - he's played two matches there and has 4 wins out of 6 - the real story, however, may be turning out for EI 2 (deep in relegation trouble) against EI 1 - two wins in a "surprise" 7-3 victory for EI 2 which brings them within a point of both North Merchiston 2 and Edin Uni - another relegation dogfight that seems to be going the distance! His 3 wins and doubles victory for EI 3 also pulled that side 3 points clear of the relegation zone in Division 1. He's either improved remarkably since joining EI or the initial assessment of his standard was, how can we put this...... woefully off the mark! Is there anything wrong with EI's actions in terms of the rules?? Probably not - maybe it was a genuine underestimation of a players ability - as was pointed out to our Club President today by EI's Ian Hislop, if Greig went along, unknown to a new club, and someone saw him practising he'd probably be put into Division 4!! 

Only two weeks left and so much still to be decided - don't you just love it??!!


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Week 23 Report

12/3/2017

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Five of the Club's seven teams were in action in Week 23 of the Edinburgh & Lothians League.   

In the Premier Division, Team 1 were again understrength as they faced Championship chasing Murrayfield 1 at Ladywood. For the second consecutive week Greig and Colin (this time assisted by Abby) fell to a disappointing 8-2 defeat. 

There was worse news for Team 2 in Division 1 as they too succumbed to Murrayfield opposition. Iain Johnstone provided the only win in their 9-1 loss. 

Team 4's struggles at the bottom of Division 2 continued as Chris Markey, Krzysztof Laszkiewicz and Rudolph Andrade (playing up from Team 5) just missed out on a point as they fell to a narrow 6-4 defeat against North Merchiston 3. Two final end defeats for Krzysztof in match 1 and Chris in match 3 were crucial on the night. 

In similar trouble in Division 3 are Team 5 who were looking for only their 3rd victory of the season as they faced Edinburgh International 4. Vikas Singla continued his excellent recent form with 3 singles wins. Unfortunately, only Rudolph Andrade was able to add to the total in singles play with one win but he combined with Vikas for an important doubles win as Team 5 kept their survival hopes alive with a 5-5 draw. 

Finally in Week 23, Team 7 hosted Murrayfield 8 in Division 4. Louis McLeod was in good form winning two of his 3 singles matches in the Ladywood side's 8-2 defeat.  

Away from the League, the Club were represented by 4 of our youngsters in the 2016/17 Junior League Tournament run over two weekends at Haddington. Hannah McDonell and Joe Spray formed Penicuik B in Division 2 and the experience of playing against older and more experienced players will stand them in good stead for the future. In Division 1, Penicuik A went into the second weekend of matches joint top of the League with St George's School. Louis McLeod was joined by Sonny Taylor and after two more wins they faced the league decider against St George's, both teams having won 5 out of 5 matches up to that point.  With St George's top player (North Merchiston's Amelia Norbury) undefeated, both boys recorded good wins against Charlotte Burridge resulting in the tie being poised at 2-2 going into the deciding doubles match. Louis and Sonny started as underdogs but in a terrifically tight and tense match, they held their nerve to win 11-8 in the deciding fifth end to give Penicuik an excellent 3-2 win and with that victory the Division 1 Junior League title was won. 

And so to our player of the week award for Week 22. Only Vikas was undefeated in singles play this week but looking further afield we think we have to recognise the youngsters achievements this week after an excellent day in the junior league. There were some really strong teams taking part and we can't forget the contribution made by Louis Myatt in the first round of matches when he combined with Louis McLeod. With Louis Myatt absent, Sonny was a revelation stepping up from Team B and showing he wasn't out of his depth. He certainly impressed with some great play alongside Louis. The event was effectively won as a result of two brilliant doubles victories - there's no splitting the boys this week and so for the first time this season the award is shared - well done Louis and Sonny. 

And finally our controversy of the week. Etiquette of players and Teams!

In a recent Team 3 match there were a number of talking points brought back to Ladywood. If anyone else was involved in telling the stories, we would take them with a pinch of salt but these stories come from Mr Nice, James Wighton (he's reclaimed his crown as our nicest team Captain, held briefly by Mr Bailey). James' opponent in his first match challenged the umpire on a couple of occasions and was so adamant that even though James knew his opponent was wrong, such was the determination of his opponent that James agreed for the sake of the match continuing to let his opponent have his own way. James lost the match deuce in the fifth, the confrontation playing a huge part in that loss.

Worse was to come however when the same player continually then had a go at young Abby for what he perceived as her getting the scores wrong whilst umpiring his match against Gary. Everyone else at the match were satisfied that Abby was not in fact wrong but after a number of "unpleasant exchanges" he demanded that the umpire was changed before he would continue playing!! Again, because he's too nice, and out of concern for his daughter no doubt, James stepped in and took over umpiring whilst Abby left the playing arena upset at the treatment she had received. Now in fairness to our opponents, their team captain, both on the night, and subsequently by email apologised to James for his teammate's conduct and pointed out that the individual concerned was also extremely sorry. The point however is back to one we've commented on previously - umpires need to be strong and they need to be respected - as with every umpire, referee, linesman or official, mistakes will be made but in the end of the day their decision has to be final. If players start making the decisions rather than the umpires we'll be on a very slippery slope. 


And finally, speaking of etiquette, at the Junior League today two teams just didn't turn up - no notice, no explanation, no phone call - that's just rude!!!

23 weeks over already - would you believe it??!!



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Week 22 Report

5/3/2017

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All seven of the Club's teams were in action in Week 22 of the Edinburgh & Lothians League.   

In the Premier Division, Team 1 could only field two players in their away fixture against Murrayfield 2. Greig McDonell and Colin Green were disappointed with only one win each in their 8-2 defeat. 

After an excellent 8-2 win in Week 21, Team 2 faced a difficult home match against second placed Corstorphine 1 in Division 1. Iain Johnstone and Clive Liddiard gave the home side a terrific start winning their opening matches but from 2-0 up seven of the next eight matches went the way of the visitors. Iain won 2 whilst Clive won 1 on a night when the 7-3 scoreline doesn't do justice to how close the match was with 4 of those games going to deciding fifth ends, all won by Corstorphine.  

Team 3 consolidated their second place in the Division 2 table as they recorded a 7-3 victory over Police. Gary McDougal was undefeated on the night in singles play and combined with Abby Wighton for a doubles victory whilst Abby won 2 singles and dad James added 1. 

Unfortunately at the other end of the Division 2 table Team 4 continue to struggle as they suffered a disappointing 6-4 defeat at the hands of Corstorphine 3. Matches 4 and 5 on the night proved crucial as first Chris Markey lost 11-9 in the deciding 5th end of his match before Marcin Mroz lost the next match 11-8 in the deciding end. Having started the night only a point behind their opponents, this defeat leaves the Penicuik trio captained by Krzysztof Laszkiewicz in deep relegation trouble with 5 weeks of the season remaining. 

In similar trouble in Division 3 are Team 5 who were no match for top of the table North Merchiston 4 as John Bald, Vikas Singla and Louis Myatt fell to a heavy 9-1 defeat, Vikas providing the only win of the night for the Midlothian trio. 

In Division 4, Team 6 bounced back from their defeat in Week 21 as they recorded an 8-2 victory against Haddington 3. Craig Johnson was undefeated in singles play and combined with Sean Lennon for a victory in the doubles whilst Sean and Stuart Bennett won 2 singles matches each. 

Finally in a busy week for the Club, Team 7 visited promotion chasing North Merchiston 6 in Division 4. The visitors could only field two players and starting the night some 15 points adrift of their opponents in the table, the resultant 8-2 defeat was no real surprise. George Wilson won 1 singles match and combined with Lewis Baldock for a good doubles victory. 

And so to our player of the week award for Week 22. Two players are in the running this week - Gary Mcdougal from Team 3 and Craig Johnson from Team 6. Both players are contributing hugely to promotion challenges for their teams and both were undefeated last week in singles and doubles play. Overall this season both players are at about 75% in the individual averages so it’s difficult to pick between them. But for the fact that this man has been very much under the radar throughout the season, this week’s award goes to Gary - Imagine how good he could be if he turned up to practice! Well done Gary.

And finally our controversy of the week section. It was going to be a good one this week - picture the scene as Team 1 turn out with two players to find only two players in attendance for Murrayfield 2 - 30 minutes after scheduled start time still only two of them and one is Gordon Muir from Team 1 - he’s been registered down to bolster Team 2’s squad - how dare they! The cheek of it! Only Murrayfield could get away with that! Outrageous! We already had our letter of objection drafted in our minds - oh hold on a minute why have Lindsay and Yuhan turned up? Young Mr Muir has missed his calling as a politician - he was just feeding us a line - some fake news it seems - all done rather convincingly!!

So instead, we may as well have a go at the rules and use the Murrayfield match as an example - only 2 players for us - Lindsay and Yuhan turn up considerably beyond the start time - Greig has two mammoth five enders including his normal marathon with Keith Dingwall where the expedite system was suggested by the ever supportive Aussie!! Well after 10pm by the time we got finished - if we’d had three players we would have been there until midnight!! In the good old days anyone who turned up more than 30 minutes late forfeited their matches - not anymore - so long as you’re playing at premises where you can play all night there’s no incentive on anyone to turn up timeously - surely that can’t be fair can it?? Another rule that needs looked at in our view.

Only 5 weeks of action left - where have the last six months gone??

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